Improving collection development and reference services for interdisciplinary fields through analysis of citation patterns: An example using tourism studies

Abstract

Analyzing the citation characteristics of the scholarly production of an interdisciplinary field according to the kind of research methodology employed can provide much valuable information that can be used to improve both collection development decisions and reference services. Focusing on tourism studies, this article shows how a detailed breakdown of citations by Library of Congress (LC) classification can help librarians manage the information scatter that is typically associated with interdisciplinary fields. Data about the percentage of cited material from particular LC classes and subclasses that are used in the collective research output of an interdisciplinary field can be helpful in identifying types of material for purchase that otherwise may be overlooked. In addition, by identifying LC classes and subclasses that generate many citations, librarians can closely examine individual citations from these classes to get a detailed sense of how interdisciplinary scholars do their intellectual work, thus allowing them to better understand and anticipate the future information needs of these scholars.